Gem Women Warriors at WisCon40

Gem is the apprentice of Lore in the Monomyth story. She is a tween caught stealing food from the Last Standing tribe's protected farm. Rather than put an arrow through her, Monomyth sees something that brings Gem into the group. Her bandolier carries cartridges of seeds and cuttings (in the story.) Last Standing are the protectors of fresh water and heirloom seeds. As apprentice to Lore, Gem will wear the history of the tribe, as Lore does now. On her arms are the first tattoos: one arm has the seasons, the other the elements air, water, earth, fire. The talking tattoos are the history of the tribe. Gem will be one of the hidden individuals who will carry on the traditions and stories. All are secretly protected and unknown to each other. I'm noodling in my head telling this story as a mythic character piece. Gem would then be a major narrator, rather than the Monomyth. It's a tough mind switch, but will be fun to do. Gem is named for a character in the original Star Trek series. The Empath was written by Joyce Muskat - the only original script she sold to television. Unforgettable writing.

What I envision for this trio of characters is a video game for children. Players will identify edible and medicinal plants, learn trees in all seasons, get points for collecting seeds, and protecting nature. The game can be adjusted to reflect what the child may be doing at home or in school, with downloadable teacher and parent workbooks. It's a good dream to nurture.

This figure came to me with shiny straight, static-electricity-mad hair and the usual glam girl make-up. I dreadlocked her hair, and repainted her face. She has copper eyes. The jeans are a scrap of a favorite pair of mine, and I distressed holes in the same places mine had worn out. The pants close with a snap in the front. Gem has an orange camisole under the jacket. The jacket has a working zipper. She has a knife in the pocket of her jacket. Her boots are plastic. Her body is not articulated, so she has limited posing potential. The knife is plastic.

Gem will be joining her 12 sister warriors at the WisCon40 Art Show in Madison, WI during Memorial Day weekend

For those who will not be attending WisCon, a 4x6 art print of Gem is available in my etsy shop.